Hotel workers to get jobs back

JAKARTA: The Jakarta State Administrative Court has ordered the Shangri-La Hotel to re-employ 79 workers laid off 16 months ago.

Presiding Judge Marcus Lande and a panel of justices ruled the sackings were unlawful, overruling an earlier decision in the hotel's favor by the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration's labor dispute committee.

The Shangri-La's management fired 579 employees in November 2000 after they stopped work and conducted protest rallies, demanding better pay and conditions.

Last year, the South Jakarta District Court convicted several former employees of the hotel for causing financial losses to the Shangri-La, which was forced to temporarily close during the strike. The court also ordered them to pay US$2 million in compensation for the losses.

The former employees then reported the case to the International Labor Organization, which urged the government to settle the problem. -- JP